Glossary

The Japan Eats Glossary of Japanese Food and Beverage Terms is necessarily a work in progress. Here at Japan Eats we’re constantly adding to the list. If you would like to contribute or comment on any of the entries below, email lovitt@japaneats.tv.

Note that throughout the text, honorifics have been dropped for ease of use.

A

Abura 油 – oil; fat.

Abura Soba 油そば – oily noodles. Usually made with ramen noodles, this ra-yu based ‘dry’ noodle dish is often topped with menma, onions, chashu and an egg.

Agari 上がり – term used in sushi shops to refer to freshly poured tea, also used as a request to end the meal. By asking specifically for “agari“, the diner can also signal that he is done.

Beniimo 紅芋 Okinawan sweet potato. Purple in color, it features in everything from bread to ice-cream.

Benishoga 紅生姜 – red pickled ginger.

Benizake 紅鮭 – red or sockeye salmon.

Bento 弁当 – meal in a box often made at home for lunchtime consumption either at school or work. Generally consists of rice, pickled vegetables, and other items such as pork, hamburg, fried shrimp, etc. A large industry specializes in preparing and selling bento.

Budou 葡萄 – Japanese word for grape.

Butabara 豚バラ – pork belly.

C

Cha kaiseki 茶懐石 – a simplified version of kaiseki-ryori, served at a tea ceremony.

Chashu チャーシュー – roast pork served with ramen. Usually sliced thinly. This is also the type of pork often used in the preparation of cha-han (fried rice). Also commonly served with a garnish as otsumami (snacks to accompany drinking).

Chanko nabe ちゃんこ鍋 – a hotpot traditionally eaten by sumo wrestlers. There are many theories about what exactly makes nabe “chanko“, but one of the best is simply: sumo wrestlers eat it.

Chirinabe ちり鍋 – a nabe that features simmered vegetables, tofu and fish. Like many nabe, this dish is popular in colder months and is often accompanied by a soy sauce/vinegar mixture for dipping.

Choko 猪口 – small cup for drinking nihonshu (saké). Some of these, called kiki choko, are white with concentric blue circles on the bottom of the inside of the cup – the circles allow tasters to judge the color and clarity of the sake.

Crema – the thin layer of foam on an espresso coffee.

D

Dai ginjo 大吟醸 – the highest grade of sake, in which the rice has been polished to less than 50% of its original mass.

Daikon 大根 – long, white Japanese radish, served in a variety of ways year-round, but especially prevalent in winter cuisine, when it can be served as an element of oden or grated and served as a topping for a variety of dishes.

Dango 団子 – small food balls that are often made from wheat, millet or rice flour. The balls are steamed/boiled and then grilled after being dipped in a topping of some sort (such as soy sauce). Meat and fish can also be used to mack the balls, and they are usually deep-fried rather than being steamed/boiled.

Depachika デパ地下 – lit. “under the department store”, the underground food section of a Japanese department store, usually consisting of two basement levels, the upper of which contains a variety of meats, prepared foods, bread, and more, with the lower level usually selling sweets or other luxuries. Depachika tend to deal in higher-range products.

Donburi 丼ぶり – either a china bowl or a bowl of rice topped with some combination of meat or vegetables. Gyudon (beef bowl) and tendon (tempura bowl) are two of the more popular styles of donburi.

E

Ebi 海老 – Japanese name for shrimp (U.S.) or prawns (U.K., Aust.)

Edamame 枝豆 – boiled immature soybeans. The pods are boiled in water together with condiments such as salt, and served whole. Edamame are served with small dish for the discarded pods.

Ei 鱏 or エイ – skate, ray.

Ekibene 駅弁 – bento sold at train stations (eki).

Enoki えのき – Chinese hackberry tree, which produces a berry, but is better known for the white mushrooms, enokidake, which grow at its base.

Enokidake 榎茸 – slim, white, somewhat crisp Japanese mushrooms that grow and are often sold in bunches. Popular in nabe and soups and especially used in winter cuisine.

F

Fu 麩 – dough made from wheat gluten.

Fugu 河豚 – Blowfish (or pufferfish), most famous for being poisonous if the liver is eaten.

Gunkan maki 軍艦巻き – traditional type of sushi made up of nori, rice and soft topping such as roe or sea urchin. Also known as ‘battleship sushi’ (owing to their distinctive shape) gunkan maki are relatively easy to make.

Gyoza 餃子 – fried or steamed dumplings, commonly found in Chinese restaurants and ramen shops. Gyoza can be made with a variety of fillings, but usually involve minced pork and negi.

H

Hakusai 白菜 – large cabbage often used in tsukemono and nabe.

Hamo 鱧 – pike eel. This fish is commonly found on menus in the Kansai region.

Hara hachi-bu 腹八分 – eating until you are 80 per cent full. Said to originate in Okinawa.

Kamaboko 蒲鉾 – processed whitefish loaf with a firm, somewhat rubbery texture. Usually pink or yellow on the outside and white inside. Served in soups, including ramen, or on its own with shoyu or another sauce for dipping.

Kamameshi 釜飯 – meat, vegetables or fish cooked with rice and dashi. A kama is an individual-sized iron pot.

Kiki choko 利き猪口 – small, white sake tasting cups with concentric blue circles on the bottom of the inside of the cup, which allow tasters to judge the color and clarity of the sake.

Kikurage 木耳 – wood ear.

Kimchi キムチ – Korean cabbage which is fermented with spices, often red pepper. Kimchi comes in a wide variety of styles, but is usually spicy or salty.

Kimo 肝 – liver.

Kinoko 茸 – generic word for mushrooms.

Kissaten 喫茶店 -a traditional Japanese coffee shop.

Kyushoku 給食 – school lunch.

Kogyoku 紅玉 – apple, more commonly known as “ringo“.

Koji 麹 – mold (Aspergillus oryzae) used in the brewing of sake, which performs the role of yeast in brewing beer – it grows on steamed rice and produces the enzymes that break the starch down into fermentable sugars.

Kome 米 – rice.

Konbu 昆布 – seaweed.

Konnyaku 蒟蒻 – seaweed-based, firm, gelatinous food often used in soups or as a side dish.

Kura 蔵 – a sake brewery. There are some 1800 sake kura throughout Japan (2009).

Miso 味噌 – salty soy bean paste used in soups, stews, as a dressing, and more. It comes in variety of styles, the most common being white and red (aka-miso); the latter being especially popular in the Chubu region.

Modori 戻り – a prefix used when referring to bonito which are ‘returning’ i.e. swimming upstream.

Momoniku もも肉 – a cut of chicken thigh or beef round.

Moromi 諸味 – thick mash of cereal or cereal and soy bean left to undergo slow fermentation with bacteria, yeasts, and mold. Often used to refer specifically to the fermenting rice mash in the production of sake.

Moyashi もやし – bean sprouts, usually mung beans, but also soy beans. Often used in stir-fried dishes or as a topping for ramen.

Mugi 麦 – Japanese word for barley.

Mugi shochu 麦焼酎 – barley shochu.

Muroka 無濾過 – unfiltered.

N

Namazu 鯰 – cat fish.

Nabe 鍋 – Japanese hotpot, which consists of any kind of stock to which any variety of meats, seafood, or vegetables are added; esp. popular in winter. “Nabe” is also the Japanese word for a cooking pot.

Nabeyaki udon 鍋焼きうどん – Udon served with various ingredients and soup in a Japanese hot pot.

Nanairo tougarashi 七色唐辛子 – Kanto-region equivalent for shichimi tougarashi, a chili powder mix featuring at least six added ingredients. Often sprinkled over nabe and noodles, the six additives can be anything from sesame seeds to shiso.

Robatayaki 炉端焼き – a type of izakaya characterized by an open hearth at which vegetables and seafood are cooked. The customers sit around a central serving area, allowing them to indicate what they would like to order.

Ryori 料理 – Japanese for a type of food, cooking style or cuisine.

Ryoriryokan 料理旅館 – A Japanese ryokan (hotel) which specialises in food.

Ryotei 料亭 – a high class Japanese restaurant providing private dining areas, often with a garden. Synonymous with Japanese politicians.

S

Saba 鯖 – mackerel.

Sakana 魚 – Japanese word for fish.

Sake 1 酒 – Japanese word for alcohol, but used outside of Japan to refer to nihonshu, a brewed rice drink with an alcohol content a little stronger than the average wine. The word is pronounced /sah-kay/.

Sake 2 鮭 or サーモン – salmon.

Samsai 山菜 – general word for edible wild plants.

Sansho 山椒 – Japanese pepper.

Sashimi 刺身 – raw meat (most often fish).

Sato 砂糖 – Japanese word for sugar.

Satoimo 里芋 – taro potato, sticky, with a prickly outer skin.

Shabu shabu しゃぶしゃぶ – onomatopoeia for the sound of swishing thinly-sliced meat (usually high-grade beef) or vegetables through a pot of boiling water to quickly cook them. Also the name of the dish, which is especially popular in winter.

Shiso 紫蘇 – Perilla is a genus of annual herb that is a member of the mint family.

Shoga 生姜 – Japanese word for ginger.

Shochu 焼酎 – distilled spirit, usually made of sweet potato, wheat, brown sugar, or rice, but also made of a wide variety of other ingredients.

Shojin ryori 精進料理 – a vegetarian cuisine which was first developed in the Kyoto area of Japan. It is based mainly on rice, tofu, and fresh vegetables and is eaten by Buddhist monks (who are forbidden to include any fish, meat or eggs in their diets).

Tsumire つみれ – ball of ground sardine, usually served with soup or in oden.

Tsukiji fishmarket 築地 – Tsukiji fishmarket is the largest wholesale fishmarket in the world. It is presently located on the western edge of Tokyo Bay, however the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has announced its intention to move the market east to Toyosu. The plan is highly controversial, not least because the Toyosu site is said to be contaminated.

Tsukudani 佃煮 – a sweet and salty preserve.

Udon うどん – thick, white noodles made from wheat flour.

Umami 旨味 – one of the five basic tastes, sometimes described as “savoriness”.

Ume 梅 – The so-called “Japanese plum” is actually a relative of the apricot. Ume is a popular flavoring for rice and shochu (umeshu).

Umeboshi 梅干し – ume that has been dried and salt-pickled. Red shiso leaves are often used to make it turn red.

Umi-budo 海ブドウ – sea grapes used in many Japanese salads.

Unagi 鰻 – freshwater eel, usually grilled with a sweet sauce and served over rice.

Unagiya うなぎや – restaurant specializing in unagi (eel).

Uni ウニ – sea urchin; the raw orange gonads are the part usually served.

W

Wagyu 和牛 – lit. “Japanese beef”. Wagyu is known for a well-marbled, tender texture and a relatively mild flavor.

Wakame 若布/和布 – seaweed often used in miso soup.

Waribashi 割箸 – wooden chopsticks that are originally one piece and must be snapped apart before use. They are almost always thrown away after one use.

Wasabi 山葵 – Green relative of horseradish that is primarily used with sushi and sashimi.

Yakumi 薬味 – a condiment made up of either fresh vegetables (spring onion, shiso and myoga) or dried seaweed and shichimi.

Yatai 屋台 – kiosk serving street food.

Yonezu 米酢 – rice vinegar.

Yuba 湯葉 – tofu skin, made by boiling soy milk until a “skin” congeals on the surface. It is served fresh with dipping sauces, such as shoyu or used to wrap dim sum in Chinese cuisine. It also used to make faux “meat”, especially faux “chicken”.

Yubari 夕張 – town in Hokkaido, which has lent its name to a variety of popular and prized cantaloupe.

Yukke ユッケ – raw ground beef dish similar to steak tartare.

Yuzu 柚子 – Japanese citrus fruit with a yellow rind, often described as being between a lemon and a lime.